Leif.
Ithadto be Leif Snarlsson. How many people in the Highlands had the name Leif? And how many of those people were involved in illicit dealings?
Kai and his men had been following rumors of this man for months. He was thought to be behind a series of strange goings on in the Highlands: people going missing, attacks on travelers, cattle slaughtered in the fields, ships spotted off the coast. But the man himself remained as elusive as a ghost.
Kai’s commanders in the Order of the Osprey believed it was all part of a bigger plan to destabilize the Highlands ready for some sort of attack and Kai couldn’t shake the feeling that the arrival of the gunpowder was just the beginning of something much larger.
He chewed his lip as he considered his options.
“Does the man ye are going to meet—this ‘courier’—know what ye look like?” he asked at last, turning back to Alfred.
The fat man blinked. “Nay, we never met, only corresponded through intermediaries.”
“Then he willnae realize it isnae ye that’s delivering this cargo, will he?”
“What are ye thinking?” Conall asked, leaning back against the cart and picking his teeth with the tip of his dagger. The man’s wolf-gray eyes sparkled with anticipation as if he’d already guessed Kai’s plan.
“I’m thinking we keep Alfred’s rendezvous,” he replied. “Only it willnae be Alfred making the delivery, it will be us. We need to know what Snarlsson is planning. This is our best chance. We’ll stop at Aberfeldy tonight. It lies close to our route.”
“What about the woman?” Oskar asked nodding at Caitlin. “She knows too much.”
Kai turned. Caitlin was watching them warily. One arm was wrapped around her stomach as if she was about to be sick and the other hand was pressed to her mouth as if to hold down a scream.
Who was she? And what was her part in this?Damn it,Irene,he thought.Why have ye thrown this woman into my path?
Who Caitlin was or what she was doing here would have to remain a mystery for the present. His mission was his first and only priority. And Oskar was right: she’d seen too much.
“We’ll take her with us.”
Caitlin’s eyes went wide. “No, you bloody-well won’t! You can’t just take me prisoner!”
“Prisoner? Ye aren’t our prisoner. Think of yerself as our honored guest.”
Caitlin’s gaze darted between the men and she looked as terrified as a startled rabbit. He stepped closer, forcing her to look up at him.
“Caitlin,” he said softly. “Ye willnae be harmed. On this I give ye my word. But I canna let ye go. My mission is too important to risk word reaching the wrong ears. As soon as we make that rendezvous, ye will be released.”
She opened her mouth and shut it again. He could tell she didn’t believe him and he couldn’t blame her. Who would when they’d just seen him threaten to slit a man’s throat?
“Ye can trust us,” Magnus rumbled from his seat on the wagon. The big man was easy-going and his ferocity in battle belied his gentle nature. “Ye can trust Kai. He may be a little rough around the edges, but he’s a good lad at heart.”
“Rough around the edges?” Kai asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Magnus chuckled but Caitlin didn’t join in. He took her hand and she flinched as if she expected him to chop it off.
“I willnae let any harm come to ye,” he said softly. “On my honor.”
His charm normally worked on the lasses and he concentrated all of it on Caitlin right now. But to his surprise,hewas the one who suddenly felt warmth prickle up his skin and his heart do a strange little flutter.
She swallowed thickly. “How far is this place you’re traveling to?”
He waved a hand vaguely. “Not far.”
“And when we get there, you’ll let me go and I can call a cab and go home?”
He nodded. “Ye have my word. Now I need yer word too. Our mission is of utmost importance. I need yer word that ye willnae try to run off or speak of what ye’ve heard here today to anyone. Can ye do that?”
She glanced around at the men who were all watching her. “Do I have a choice? Fine. I promise. Now can we get going? The sooner we get there the sooner I can get home and out of this crazy mess.”
